Europe’s Migration Lessons for Japan

Irina AngelescuInternational Affairs Specialist, USA

Japan
is in the process of changing its famously restrictive immigration laws.
In late 2018, Japanese lawmakers held an extraordinary session of the
Diet to discuss the topic, the aim being to bring in foreign workers to
address the most severe national labor shortage in four decades while
causing minimal disruption to society. This may prove difficult: in
2017, legal foreign residents comprised only 1.95% of the country’s
population.

What
lessons can Europe — a continent with a long history of
immigration — teach Japan? In light of the much-publicized migration
crisis in Europe, many Japanese see the European experience as a
cautionary tale rather than a model to emulate. Indeed, for those who
oppose immigration, the rise in social unrest and populism in Europe
that followed the migration crisis vindicates their stance. However,
they have adopted a reductive view of a complex phenomenon. If Japan
genuinely wants to address its migration challenges as well as the
challenges of a shrinking population, it needs to look beyond the
migration crisis.

Japan’s Pressing Need for MigrantsA
glance at Japan’s demographic trends underlines the urgency of the
migration issue. With approximately 25% of its population over the age
of 65, the country is experiencing one of the fastest rates of aging in
the world. And with birth rates below replacement levels, the longest
life expectancy in the world, and a baby boomer generation that is
reaching retirement age, Japan is also facing challenges to its pension
and healthcare systems. In the Japanese construction sector for example,
one-third of workers are older than 55, and only 11% are younger than
29. According to a report the Migration Policy Institute published in
2017, “immigrants would need to make up at least 10% of the overall
population” to address these challenges effectively.

Until
recently, Japan preferred to appeal to highly skilled immigrants and to
use artificial intelligence to mitigate its labor shortage. Launched in
2012, the country’s Highly Skilled Foreign Professionals visa
initiative is partly modeled on the Australian and Canadian points
systems. Last year, Japan adopted measures to offer permanent residence
to some highly skilled workers in as little as one year. Despite these
efforts, the 2017 edition of the IMD World Talent Ranking listed Japan
as the least attractive of 11 Asian nations as a destination for highly
skilled workers. This suggests that there is a need for broader reforms.

Lessons from EuropeIn
this context, careful analysis of the European experience provides some
helpful lessons. The first — and far from surprising — lesson is that
boosting immigration helps offset the challenges of aging and shrinking
populations. The EU projection is that European countries’ acceptance of
migrants should help them maintain their current population size
throughout this century. Many Western European states have fertility
rates below replacement level among native-born citizens but, unlike
Japan, they have used immigration to make up the difference. In
contrast, the populations of countries in Central and Eastern
Europe — which generally experience high rates of emigration and very
low rates of immigration — have shrunk in recent years.

The
second lesson is that immigration may well have improved Europe’s
competitiveness and economic growth. The World Economic Forum’s annual
Global Competitiveness Report consistently places European countries
with high rates of immigration — including Switzerland, which has a
foreign-born population of almost 25% — near the top of its rankings
and, in some cases, above Japan. Despite the disruption caused by the
financial and migration crises, the Eurozone has experienced positive
(if modest) economic growth since 2015. The most economically successful
European countries have actively courted foreign workers, offering both
competitive salaries and optimal living conditions, including housing,
language classes, and other benefits.

A
third lesson is that the gains discussed above will be sustainable only
if the government implements effective integration policies in
collaboration with civil society. Here, countries in Western Europe are
by no means perfect, but in the Center for Global Development’s 2016
ranking of states’ immigration policies, they performed better than
Japan. Integration is a multi-faceted process that requires effort from
both sides: immigrants working to integrate into the host society, and
that society reaching out to accept them. According to Harvard
University’s recent study of perceptions of immigration in Western
Europe and the USA, most people exaggerate the size and impact of the
immigrant population in their country. Those who know immigrants,
however, are a notable exception.

These
findings suggest that governments need actively to encourage open
public dialogue on immigration and interactions with immigrants in host
societies. The native populations’ investment in the process should
accompany policies that help immigrants find jobs, enter the housing
market, and learn the local language. Another integral part of a
successful integration policy is a healthy system of naturalization.
Here, Japan remains one of the few countries to implement a restrictive
jus sanguinis policy (one based on parents’ nationality). Germany
revised its jus sanguinis law in 2000 to make it easier for foreign
residents to acquire citizenship. As a consequence, while Japan
naturalizes approximately 1,000 people every year, Germany naturalized
112,211 in 2017.

A New Japan?Japan’s
recent measures to boost labor immigration suggest that it is
undertaking a series of ad hoc measures rather than implementing a
coherent strategy. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s February 2018 statement
that his government “has no intention of adopting a so-called
immigration policy” supports this view. While it is right to proceed
cautiously, Japan would benefit from an open public dialogue on
immigration and national identity, given many Japanese citizens’
perception of the country as culturally and ethnically homogeneous.

Japan
needs to resist the temptation to view Europe as merely an example of
the negative socio-political consequences of immigration. By learning
from the European experience, the country can enjoy the positive aspects
of immigration. Moreover, Europe and Japan could both benefit from
direct consultations with each other on the issue, using the forums for
cooperation they created under their recent Strategic Partnership
Agreement.

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